Safety valve device



April 2s, "1953 Patented Apr. 28, 1953 UNITED STATI-:s `or"l1-"i1 CE 2,636,505 SAFETY VALVE -.Devil-2E Eugene traine, "Los Angeles, kentf., assigner "to Thermae Company, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California y :Application July'7., 1947, Serial-No. #59,397

(o1. larges) '5Cl'ain1s. l1 This :invention Ielates to a safety valve device, and x.particularly to fsuoh devices that are employed for controlling the-flow of a -fuel suchas gas, .to -azmainfburnen;andto-appilot burner. The type :of valve device to which my invention -relates, :usually includes a rotary plug valve, or .plug cock, which permits the flow of vgas to the main burner 4when lin its open position, and the .construction usually .provides a pilot port which operates independently of the rotary valve, to Vsupply thefuel at all times when the device is in operation, .to the pilot burner. These devices also'frequenly include ka valve `closure which, when it is open, maintains a continuous supply to the pilot burner. Under .normal conditions, if the main 'burner -hasnot 4been lighted, the rotary valve Will `loe-.standing in its off position, that yis to lsay, 'it will be Yclosing oil now of fuel -to the mainburner., although the .other valve, that 'is to say, the valve closure, Will be in its open position supplying fuel to Ithe rpilot burner.

llhe valve `)g1-arts referred .to above, usual-lyfoperate in conjunction with a thermo-electric couple, ,or thermo-electric pile, which is located in the vicinity of the'pilot burner, and which is normallymaintained heated bythe pilot flame so as -to maintain sufcient currentflow in the coils of an e'lectromagnet to enable it to maintain an armature connected with the valve closure, ina position close to the electromagnet, thereby holding the valve yclosure in its open position. v

iWith apparatus such-as described, it :may happen that for some Areason or other, Afor exam-ple, .from .a strong wind, or from a sudden accidental failure in the normal gas vpressuredthe pilot burner may become extinguished. When this happens, oi course the current in the electromagnet faills, .and the spring which is usually associated `with the Valve closure, will move this valve to closed position, thereby shutting off all .now of gas to Ythe main burner and pilot burner, regardless of the .position of the rotary valve referred to. When this occurs, it becomes necessary to rese't the valve v'closure in its open `position, which involves 17e-lighting the pilot burner, at the same time, holding the valve closure open long enough to permit the vth'errrlocouple to energize the coils of .the elec'tromag-net vsulli'ciently to enable it to hold'the armature close vto it, which will of course liold fthe valve closure in .its open position. Of

such apparatus, and such 'a VI'ne'rsonmay not even f" 'observe that a pilot 'burner has become extinguished, and may attempt to light the pilot burn'- el' VAWhile gas is being supplied to the Jmain burner. Applying fa match `to the pilot burner under Athese yerre'inn'stances would immediately light all 'the tl) gas that has been .passinfg fthrough -to the main burner, and {'suc'h la procedure .in lighting such aloui'nei' is dangerous.

v In .other words, the setting -of lthis apparatus 'i'ito its pr'oper relation to function as it should, involves acertai-nprocedure which should insure that l'the Lpilot Iburner .-isignited -a considerable time beforethe fuel can lbe turned Vin a consideable'voluineinto'the main burner.

"One fof V,the 'Objects of this invention is lto provide fa safety valve vdevice .lof lthis kind, Which is of simple construction, .and which is so 'con- 'strueted that it is impossible yfor the operator of the device 'to set Aor're-s'et'theapparatus and ignite the pilot burner while the rotary'valve referred to is initso'pen position, and ,supplying gas or iuelinlduant'ty to tlieinain burner.

.Another object of .the inventionis to 4provide such a Vdevice with .a -hand-operated member, or handle, .which Acooperateswith the otherpar'ts of the device in .an organization of parts which Will enable 'this handle o'r means associated with the handle,..t'o perform the -function .of rotating the rotary vali/e, and also 'manually opening the valve closure; at the Sametime, organizing the parts in such "a i'vajy .that the'r'no'vement of the handle member that effects the opening of 'the valve closure, can {notfbe performed unless the rotary Valve is 'in `i`t's"o1lpo`s`tion, alt Which time it Will not bes'upplylng any fuel to the main burner.

Another object of 'the 4invention is to provide correlated `means associated vwith the casing of the valve .device, and the operating handle referred -to above, which will indicate to the operator of the device, `the Tposition that the rotary valve and which will cooperate to .prevent a shifting movement of the handle along its own axis unless the rotary valve is in its off position.

Y v1n "the 'preferred embodiment `oi .this invention, the .rtaryvalve is in the vform of a tapered plug which is received a tapered socket or seat in the casing; and the operating handle for-rotating this tapered plug, is mounted in the casing so that it is vcapable -of lbeing Ishifted along its own axis to eiect the opening of the valve closure; and one of the objects of this :invention is to provide improved -means ,for electing the connection between the handle member and the rotary valve, or plug, capable of :not 'only .rotating the plug, but capable of vmoving .longitudinally along its own axis to eleet the opening 'of the valve clos-ure; and ineiliding a single resilient mea-ns or spring,

Y- which urges the plus vin a direction to maintain it properly tight in its seat, and at the lsame time, @maintain faire operating nahme in its normal outward p17-elevated posit-ion y"from which it can be ptsned inwardly when the rotary valve is in its closed position..

Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel parts and combinations of parts to be described hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce an efficient safety valve device.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following specification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a valve device embodying my invention, certain parts being broken away and shown in elevation, and others in partial section. In this view the electromagnet that cooperates with the armature of the device, is also illustrated, together with the pilot burner, which is supplied with fuel from the pilot port of the valve'device.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken about on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, further illustrating the correlated means for connecting the handle member and the casing to prevent a wrong operation of the device, and also illustrating the preferred character of the connection between the handle member and the rotary Valve, that enables the rotary valve tc be rotated at will, at the same time permitting the shifting movement of the handle that opens the valve closure if the rotary valve is in its closed position.

Referring more particularly to the parts, the apparatus illustrated includes a casing I, which has a tapered bore 2 in which is mounted the rotary valve closure or plug 3, which plug has a peripheral conical wall as shown, and is open at its small end where the chamber or passage 4 within it, emerges at the lower end of the tapered bore 2 where a small chamber 5 is formed between the lower end of this plug and a main valve closure 6. The peripheral wall of the plug is provided with a side port 'i that is illustrated as being in alignment with a passage or port 8 in the casing, which supplies fuel to a main burner, not illustrated. On the opposite side of the valve casing as illustrated, a fuel inlet 9 is placed, which admits the fuel into a valve chamber I located below the valve closure l. In other words, the valve closure 6 is in the line of flow of the fuel from the inlet to the outlet 8, and when it is in its closed position on its Valve seat II, it completely closes olf flow of the fuel through the outlet 8 to the main burner, and also through a pilot port I 2 which can supply fuel to a pilot burner I3. `Operatively connected with the valve closure 6 so as to move in unison with it, an armature I4 is provided, which cooperates with an electromagnet I5, the coils, or coil I6 of which is supplied with electric current from a thermocouple Il, the upper end of which is in proximity to the name at the upper end of the pilot burner, which name, or flames, are indicated by the dotted lines IB. v

Suitable means is provided for biasing the valve closure S to, or toward, its closed position. In the present instance,.this means is illustrated as consisting of a coil spring I3, the upperend of which thrusts against the under side of the Valve closure, and the lower end of which thrusts against a disc or head 243 attached to the lower side of the casing I, so as to operate as a closure for the under side. of thevalve chamber I0.

The armature I-l and the electromagnet l may be housed in a small cup-shapedsub-casing 2l, which carries terminals such as the terminal 22 to which the conductors of theelectric `cord k23 4 are attached, which cord is attached to the lower end of the thermocouple I1. Conductors 24 and 25 within the sub-casing 2|, are connected to the coils I6.

In applying my invention to a'valve construc tion such as described, I mount the main valve closure 6 rigidly on the inner end of a valve stem 26, and guide it below through a guide opening centrally located in the head 2li, below which the stem may be provided with a ball head 21, which is socketed in the upper side of the armature I4. The mouth of this socket can be peened over slightly to retain the armature on the ball.

The stem 26 extends up through the upper end of the plug 3, so that the stem 28 presents a projecting portion 25a that extends upwardly beyond the upper end of the plug. At this point a coupling member 28 is provided, which can lbe rotated by a handle member 29 on the exterior of the casing, and the connection between this coupling 28 and the plug 3 is such as to permit the coupling to rotate the plug; and this connection also permits the coupling 28 to be shifted along the axis of the plug. In order to accomplish this, the upper end of the plug is formed into an upwardly extending neck 30, which has flat side faces 3|; the coupling 28 is made originally of cylindrical form, and is then broached out at its middle portion and transversely to divide it into two forks 32, which forks have flat faces 33 to nt against the fiat side faces 3l of the neck 39. The coupling 28 is either attached to a spindie, or is made with an integral extension as illustrated, forming a spindle 34, the upper end of which has a square shank 35 that is socketed in a similarly shaped socket in the lower end of the shank 36 that forms a part of the knob or handle member 29. This shank 36 may be rigidly secured to the spindle 34.

Between the upper end of the plug 3 and the lower end of the coupling 28, a coil spring 3l is provided, which performs the double function of pressing the tapered plug 3 downwardly into its conical seat, and also holding the coupling 28 in its extreme elevated position, at which time its upper end is held against the under side of a screw cap 38 that is screwed onto the threaded upper end of the casing I.

The spindle 34 and the casing cap 38 are provided with correlated means which will prevent the handle member 29 and its shank 35 from being pushed downwardly if the valve plug 3 is in its open position as shown in Fig. 1. To accomplish this I provide a stop surface on the valve casing adjacent to a stop, or stop finger that moves along that surface when the rotary valve is being rotated towards its open position. This surface is formed so that it will prevent the opening of the main valve-closure until the rotary valve has been rotated into its fully closed position. For this purpose, I prefer to provide a radially disposed stop finger or pin 39 that projects outwardly from the spindle 34, and when the plug 3 is in this position, the pin 39 will rest on the dwell le of a cam face 4I, which extends circumferentially around the spindle 34, and which forms a portion of the upper surface cf a collar or sleeve I2 that may be formed integrally with the upper side of the screw cap 38. In this position the side of the pin rests against a shoulder 43 that is disposed in a vertical plane as illustrated in Fig. 2.

i Between the upper end of the projection 26a and the under face 44 of the coupling 28, a clearance space is provided, as shown, when the spindle 34 is in this relatively elevated position with the pin 39 resting on the dwell 49.

The mode of operation of the apparatus in resetting it from the position of the parts illustrated in Fig. l, will now be described. En this connection, however, it should be understood that the flames indicated at i8, are supposed to be extinguished, and by reason of this supposition, the electromagnet l5 will have become deenergized, and the effective loss of its magnetic lines of force will ha've released the armature I4 so that the spring E9 is holding the valve closure 8 closed. In order to re-set this valve device, the handle member 29 should be pressed down against the cam face t E, which causes the handle to rotate in a clockwise direction through approximately 180. This will rotate the stop pin 39 around to an opposite position from that in Which it is illustrated in Fig. 1, at which time it will have moved far enough down along the cam surface 4l to re-set the main valve-closure. This rotation of the handle member 29 through 18()o will of course swing the port l around and away from the port 3 of the casing with which it has been in communication. As this movement is being completed the face 44 of the coupling 28 will impinge upon the upper face of the projecting end 26a of the stem 29, and will push this stem downwardly, thereby carrying the valve closure 6 to its open position, and also bringing the armature I4 within the range of the magnetic flux of the electromagnet l5. The pilot burner i3 should then be lighted while the armature lll is held down sufficiently long to enable the thermo-pile to generate enough current to enable the electromagnet to hold the armature down. If the operator of the device then wishes to light the main burner, this can be done with perfect safety by rotating the handle 29 back to the position in which it is indicated in Fig. 1.

Many other embodiments of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A valve for controlling flow of fuel to a burner and to co-operate with a thermo-electric pilot controlling electro-magnet, the combination of a valve casing, a rotary valve-closure within the casing capable of assuming an open position e in which the fluid flows through the said casing, a main valve-closure in the path of flow of the fuel through the valve casing and capable of assuming a closed position to shut of ow of the fuel; means for biasing said main valve closure towards its closed position, a handle-member on the exterior of said casing for rotating the rotary valve-closure, a coupling member within the casing on the rotary valve closure operatively connected to the handle-member for rotation thereby, said rotary valve and said handle-member having a driving connection between them permitting longitudinal shifting of the handle member with respect to said rotary valve-closure to open the main valve-closure, said main valveclosure having a stem for moving the same to its open position, and guided to slide longitudinally in said rotary-valve closure, an armature carried by said stem to co-operate with the electromagnet, said handle-member having a part for engaging the stem during said shifting movement to open the main valve-closure; a stop-member projecting radially from the handle-member at the exterior of said casing, said casing having a circumferentially disposed stop-face adjacent the path of said stop-member, and co-operating with the same to prevent the shifting movement of said handle-member from opening the main-valve closure unless the rotary valve closure is in its closed position.

2. A valve for controlling flow of fuel to a burner, and to co-operate with a thermo-electric pilot-controlling electro-magnet, according to claim 1, in which the coupling member within the casing includes a neck projecting toward the handle-member with a dat face substantially parallel with 'the axis of the rotary valveclosure; and a handle-member including a coupling member Within the casing having a flat face engaging the first named fiat face for enabling the rotation of the handle-member to be imparted to the rotary valve-closure; and including resilient means for normally holding the handle-member in its normal position.

3. A valve for controlling flow of fuel to a burner, and to co-operatewith a thermo-electric pilot-controlling electro-magnet, according to claim 2, in which the said neck on the rotary valve includes two diametrically opposite faces both of which are substantially parallel to the axis of the rotary valve-closure; and in which the handle-member has a socket receiving the said neck with fiat faces to slide on the faces of the neck during the shifting movement of the handle-member that opens the main valve-closure.

4. A valve for controlling flow of fuel to a burner, and to co-operate with a thermo-electric pilot-controlling electro-magnet according to claim l, in which the outer wall of the said casing is formed with an abutment carrying the said circumferentialiy disposed face that co-opcrates with the said radially projecting stopmember, thereby enabling the said shifting movement of the handle-member that opens the main valve-closure to start during the rotary movement of the handle-member that is imparted to the rotary valve-closure.

5. A valve for controlling flow of fuel to a burner, and to co-operate with a thermo-electric pilot-controlling electro-magnet, according to claim 1, in which the coupling member on the rotary valve-closure includes a neck integral with the rotary valve-closure projecting toward the handle-member, said neck having a pair of oppositely disposed flat faces substantially parallel with the axis of the rotary valveclosures, and in which the handle-member includes a socket having fiat faces sliding on said rst named faces during the shifting movement of said handle-member that opens the main valve-closure, and in which the said stem projects upwardly beyond the end of the neck and into the path of movement of said socket during the shifting movement that opens the main valve-closure.

EUG-ENE PAILLE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,917,983 Kindl July 11, 1933 1,933,177 Kindl Oct. 3l, 1933 2,213,844 Mantz Sept. 3, 1940 2,299,654 Ray Oct. 20, 1942 2,318,323 Wantz May 11, 1943 2,395,470 Ewing Feb. 26, 1946 2,456,078 Paille Dec. 14, 1948 

